Every Sunday, I stop by to share with you a few raw and real stories from my week in The Sunday Edit. Stories where I edited struggles into strengths and found Gem moments when shining seemed impossible. In a world where everyone filters what they share online, I want you to see you’re not alone and I want to inspire you to have more good days. You’ll also find what products have been making my life easier, what new Gem finds I’ve come across, and the best sales going on right now!
**This post may contain affiliate links (which means I make a small commission when you shop from them) and sponsored items (gifted items are indicated with a [c/o] and sponsored links with an [sp]) because we all have to pay our bills, and I’d rather keep creating awesome content for you than get a real job. All opinions are my own.**
New Posts on The Gem:
- Feel Festive in Tartan
- Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for the Free Spirit
- How to Set Meaningful Goals with PowerSheets – Review
- Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for the Traveler
Life Update & Thoughts:
Happy Sunday, Gems! And also Happy December! That snuck up on us, didn’t it?!
If you’ve been keeping up with my Sunday Edits, you know that I’ve had an odd relationship with happiness. I feel like we’re stuck in this world where people make it seem really easy to be happy. Is that something that’s easy to do? Maybe I’m making this harder than it needs to be like I tend to do with most things in life? It’s not that I’m sad, but I feel like I stress out about so many things that seeing through all of that to catch a glimpse of the happiness can be really, really hard sometimes. I wish with every bone in my body that happiness was something easier for me to hold on to. I wish that my mind worked differently. Being able to connect to happiness is a skill that I’m working on because I think it’s essential for surviving the stress I feel like I’m always under. And so, like I do when I have a problem, I brought this up with my therapist and we’ve been working on it.
Two weeks ago, she asked me to define what happiness means to me. To my surprise, I couldn’t find words for this. I mean, doesn’t defining happiness seem like it should be something easy to do? But it wasn’t. So she made it my homework. And then I avoided the task for a week. At the next therapy session, she was like, “you need to do this. How can you expect to be happy and feel happiness if you don’t know what it means for you?”. She’s obviously right. Since then, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what happiness means to me and it’s been quite eye-opening.
Do you have your own definition of happiness? If not, without turning to Google, I challenge you to define it for yourself!
Shines:
- I went to go see The Nutcracker with my family (the ballet this time, not the movie). Gems, if you have a professional ballet company in your city, go see them perform! It’s such a wonderful holiday tradition. Watching something that doesn’t have words requires you to be present and attentive on a different level than what our world is used to and it’s so refreshing!
- I also went to go see the new Grinch movie with my family. It was really cute and they had fun with the plot – there were a lot of moments where the whole theater was giggling.
- I don’t normally brag, but I’m slaying the gift guide game. This is seriously one of my favorite projects to work on all year! My goal with every gift guide that goes up on The Gem, is to select thoughts, unique gifts for everyone on your list to make your holiday shopping way easier. Be sure to check out this year’s gift guides here!
Struggles:
- I got hit with an awful, awful cold. It’s been a while since I’ve had something that knocked me on my bum for a few days and I just can’t seem to kick it!
- Blog traffic was lower than usual this week. Some weeks it’s so easy to see the growth in my business and some weeks I feel like I’ve taken 5 steps back. BUT, I know this is normal and that it’s all just part of the entrepreneurial journey.
- There’s been some family commotion this week. I wish it was something that I could share because family drama is something that everyone deals with but no one talks about on the internet. Just know that if you have teenagers, I commend your strength (I don’t have teenagers, but my sisters are much younger then me at 14 and 20, but I’m kind of like a parent to them in some ways).
Currently Loving:
- This article on what self-care really means.
- I picked up these olive green jeans at Target a few weeks ago and I can’t stop wearing them. I love that they give a different look from traditional jeans and they fit me surprisingly well! You’ll be seeing them in a few outfits coming up on The Gem. Stay tuned!
- The BEAUTIFUL holiday bouquets Trader Joe’s has right now. If you stop by TJ’s over the next few weeks, be sure to pick one up!
- This gift guide for coffee lovers by Jen at Chic & Cheap Lifestyles. As someone with a coffee problem, I can assure you that any coffee lover on your list this year will LOVE these items!
- Tartan everything! There’s something about plaid that just shouts “Happy Holidays!”.
- How Ashley Brooke decorated for the holidays. It’s like her house is straight out of a Hallmark movie, seriously!
- My purple velvet hoodie. I wear it approximately every other day, no joke. And, it’s still 40% off right now!
- This sweater. I kid you not, I NEED it in every single color.
- PowerSheets for getting 2019 goals on track! (Leah, our Gem intern, did a whole review on these here)
Current Sales:
- CALIA by Carrie Underwood: If you’re wondering what to get me for Christmas, CALIA is my favorite brand to ever exist. There are so many great athleisure finds for 40% off right now like the velvet hoodie that I mentioned above (it also comes in pink and black), a cold shoulder hoodie that comes in the prettiest colors, the coolest moto jacket to ever exist (this one is 50% off!), and my very favorite yoga pants!
- gorgana: Receive a free gorjana jewelry travel case and free shipping on all orders of $150+ until 12/24. If you’re buying jewelry for anyone on your list, definitely browse their website! From $40 Solitaire Studs to the prettiest ring sets, gorjana has tons of ready-to-gift jewels!
- Ulta: STILA eyeshadow palettes are on super sales right now! This limited edition Urban Decay palette that has every color you’ll ever need is also 50% off. Here’s a coupon for $5 off when you spend $15!
- Aerie: Save 40-50% off 1000+ holiday faves. If you haven’t stocked up on holiday sleepwear yet, this is your chance! Under $20 are these adorable polar bear pants, these cozy flannel pants, these best selling plaid joggers, and this plaid nightie.
- J. Crew: Use code WINTERSALE for 35% Off your purchase (did you see all the festive tartan pieces I rounded up from J. Crew already?!). Plus, get an extra 50% off select sale items like this ribbed mockneck T-shirt, this holiday ready red dress, and this sparkly gold skirt.